August 16, 2013, Friday, Suphan Buri-Ban Rai (Thailand) 115km total: 8465km
Stopped by Kannasoot to say goodbye to Alex and his co teachers and then headed out. seeking out the rural back roads, well worth the time being lost/going slow trying to clarify if I’m on the right road.
By evening I made it to Ban Rai (the intersection of 3011 and 3282) I sat down for some noodles and the Thai family just took me in. The mom gave me two helpings of noodles for free and Ta(her daughter), sister and I chatted until twilight. Our conversation was a mix of broken Thai, broken English, and Google translate, but we still fumbled through conversation. Ta directed me to the nearest Wat, and asked on my behalf if I could stay there. The hospitality you find in the world can be amazing. As she left, we agreed for me to stop by the next morning for breakfast. I washed up, and set up my tent(ended up moving it when some not so friendly dogs approached me) As I was typing my log, a motorbike rolls into the wat, and Ta and her sister dropped off some soy milk and juice and made sure I was okay. Although I’m riding solo, the people are so friendly, I’m not feeling alone.
August 17, 2013, Saturday, Ban Rai-1242/1072 Junction 135km total 8600km
Had breakfast at Ta’s storefront. Rice with chicken and an egg. Plus the rest of the bananas that they’d given me the evening, earlier. I checked the route, and set off at 8ish.
Another beautiful, beautiful day of riding, cruising through quiet farmland, rolling through the foothills of the Western mountains. Ate lunch in Chum Tha Bong and the shop owner treated me to lunch! I pushed on to the junction of 1242/1072, and stopped once I saw the next town was 20km, not 10km(sometime the towns on Google maps and what is sign posted can be mismatched) I was just on the verge of continuing, but decided to stay in the Wat. I walked into down the street, and ate at the one food stop open,(one out of 3) and was treated to dinner! I’m getting spoiled!
I checked the map at the police box. The officer couldn’t help but laugh when I told him I was sleeping at the Wat, and he offered me to crash there. I would’ve, but my stuff was already unpacked and set up at the Wat..
August 18, 2013, Sunday, 1242/1072 -Tak (Thailand) 135km total 8735km
Cycled to the next town, it was 10 k away.. Oh well. I found some wifi and ate a breakfast made up of food the monks had given me. I wrote down my direction list in my travel book and ventured north. As I was leaving the cafe I met eyes with a random foreigner and we gave each other the look What are you doing here, waved and carried on. He seemed to be with a Thai wife of his, is my best guess from seeing who he was with.
More pretty riding today though I missed one of my turns. I cycled back and forth trying to find my bearings, b/c I did not want to cycle on the “superhighway” going north. I plugged a shop owners Ethernet cable into my computer, but was still unable to figure out where I was in regards to my turn.. So I took the first left I saw, within a few hundred meters it turned to a dirt road and then a path through some sugarcane fields. In about twenty minutes I made it to a surfaced road, the highway! Though, now I wasn’t sure where I was relative to my next turn. I stopped and asked a few times, finding that people don’t know anything when it comes to directions.. One man approached me offering help, though not knowing the location of my next highway, he started reading my own written directions to me, at which point I cut him off “Okay, kapunkrap(thank you), buh bye” and rode off. The next person at a gas station owner, also didn’t know; I resolved to keep cycling and found it about half a kilometer further along! So close! Getting directions has been a painful point on this entire trip, and Thailand is no exception.
Made sure I was on the right track and headed through rice paddies and foothills all the way to Tak. What a great three days I had. I found a Wat, set up camp, and set out to get dinner, write and route a plan. Though I ended up catching up with my mom and friends. Midnight rolled around and no writing got done. Agh! There is a “tri-lemma” of telling stories/making stories/catching up. How do you balance the three?!
August 19, 2013, Monday, Tak-55km to Mae Ramat Police Box (Thailand) 60km total 8795km
In underpants only, in my tent, woke up to the sounds of cooking at 4ish. With a simple “sawatdeekrap” and wave, their questioning looks turned into smiles and I fell back asleep for another hour or two. When I packed up, they offered me a bowl of fresh rice porridge and some water.
I found the post office, packed a box, wrote a label, prayed for a safe journey and sent home my kilos of dead weight. I cycled up to the next town Ban Tak, and replaced all my dead weight with various non perishable food items and 4 extra liters of water. The road traverses a national park, not sure if I’ll find a restaurant or market in the mountains..
It was a good climb, long and medium, no up and downs, just up, and the last bit, even more up. I saw the top, thought I was close but it took me another 45m-1hr to crank my way there. It was about 3:15 when I reached the summit Police Box, and I took a rest to snack and chat with the officers. 3:30 rolled around I continued resting. I should mention that it was raining as I approached the top, and continue as I rested. 3:45 then came and it was time to stay or go. The officer encouraged me to crash at the Police box, as the road is shitty, its raining, the sun is going down and the next Police Box is 30km away. Fine on flat, but in the mountains that could be over three hours of riding..
Logic won out and I decided to stay with the officers leaving my bike at the box and setting off to hike around the top of the mountain for a few hours. I wandered along a farmer’s path to banana tree grove, and beyond until the path ended, headed back and made a turn up a jungle road, up and up the top of mountain passing out of the jungle into the pine trees. I kept my eye on watch, and around each bend I’d spot the next turn and think, well, what’s around the next bend? I finally, reluctantly turned around made it back to the police box just before sundown, had dinner and then we asked each other questions about our respective countries.
August 20, 2013, Tuesday, 55km to Mae Ramat to Mae Ramat (top of road) (Thailand) 55km total 8850km
I ate some of my food, said thank you/goodbye and slowly made my way through the mountains. It’s a good thing I didn’t continue on the night earlier or I’d end up camping, cause the hill tribe villages were infrequent, and the road was rough. Finally, I’ve found bad roads in Thailand, I’m in the boonies! Woohoo! Plus, the tilled, hill tribe tilled slopes were well worth viewing in full light. The road bottomed out in a mountain valley and then there was a vicious 7km, 500m climb back up to the next ridge. I rolled along the top, up and down, through the pouring rain, and finally made it to Mae Ramat by 12ish. 5 hrs for 50 km. Ready to rest!
I found a lunch spot, and wandered around the internet for a few hours, peering out of the front, watching the rain come down in buckets. The lunch crowd cleared out and I remained, hiding. I resolved to stay in Mae Ramat that evening. The shop owner informed me that its been raining for a few days straight and forecasted to stop on the 22nd. AGH! Maybe I’ll have to suck it up and battle the storm, tomorrow; Today, It just looked too miserable.
That evening (yes, evening, the rain never stopped) A restaurant patron came up and we got to chatting. It came to where I was sleeping and I proposed the local Wat. His wife tried to help me over the phone, asking “So you want to sleep in your tent?” “I don’t want to sleep in my tent. I am just looking for place where I am allowed to sleep.” At first, Tang and Tok(the two patrons with whom I was speaking) pointed across the street to the gas station “Mee tent, thee nan dai!” (You have a tent, you can sleep there!) I appreciated the suggestion but told them I’d go to the Wat. Then Tang pointed to Tok and said “He’ll take care of you!”, Tok said I can pitch camp at his “shop”; it’s covered, that’s all I need.
Tok asked if I was ready, I was, so I packed up my things.. the shop is literally right next store to the restaurant. Aha I couldn’t help but laugh, I was ready to ride across town. I washed up, pitched camp, hung up my clothes and sat down to relax until I heard a “Hey, hey, oh, hey!” Tok called attention to a farang passing by on his bike, Mike. Both of us had that whats-this-guy-doing-here?-look He was on his way to go get milk and already had planned to stop by the restaurant for internet.
*10 minutes pass*
Mike is a US Peace Corp volunteer, training English teachers at two of the local schools in Mae Ramat; He has been in Thailand for a year and half and his project ends this next March. He offered for me to crash at his house that evening, but my things were already unpacked and set up in Tok’s shop. My first thought was to stay at Mike’s house the next night in case it was raining. And then I thought Mike is the kind of person I’m stoked to meet while traveling: speaks the language, has a unique experience, great conversation, and a wealth of knowledge. Why wouldn’t I stay with him a day? We made plans to meet the next morning, when I’d transfer my things to his house and then head out to school.